Napier man with dementia honoured for tireless volunteer work

The lives of many thousands of New Zealanders living with dementia have been improved significantly by the extraordinary work of Napier man Alister Robertson, who himself has dementia mate wareware, and who has been recognised in the New Year Honours List. 

Mr Robertson has been awarded the Queen’s Service Medal ‘in recognition of his services to people with dementia’. 

Mr Robertson has been a tireless volunteer, directing his efforts over many years to strengthening the voice of people living with dementia mate wareware both in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally, and helping to tackle the stigma associated with the condition.  

He played a leading role in developing New Zealand’s first ever Dementia Declaration that sets out what people living with the condition need to live well. 

• He created and launched My Life’s Journey, an app that uses reminiscence therapy to guide users to record and reflect on moments that weave together the story of their life. 
• He was also part of the expert national working group that developed the first ever New Zealand Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan, a blueprint for government to better support the rapidly growing number of New Zealanders who are developing dementia (numbers are expected to nearly triple in coming years). 
• He is a member of the Government’s Dementia Mate Wareware Leadership and Advisory Group to oversee the implementation of the Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan. 
• He is also a member of the Alzheimers NZ governance board and its advisory board, and he is the chair of the global Dementia Alliance International. 

Mr Robertson was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease several years ago. 

“He has since worked tirelessly, on a voluntary basis, to help advocate for raised awareness of dementia and to put in place better support for people living with the condition,” says Alzheimers NZ chair Clare Hynd . 

“His contribution to the dementia sector has been immense, all while he has also been managing the impact of his own dementia.  It is a progressive condition that affects his thinking, language and communication skills, and for which there is no treatment or cure.” 

Mrs Hynd said Mr Robertson has done this work very publicly and in the face of the significant stigma experienced by people living with dementia mate wareware and in a context where the human rights of people living with dementia mate wareware in Aotearoa New Zealand are often overlooked or ignored. 

“We owe Alister so much and it is really wonderful to see him honoured in this way,” she says.